Friday, 10th September 2010 @ 13:33

WAR and PEACE 10-9-10

10-9-10

WAR and PEACE

2 Corinthians 10:3

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.

2 Corinthians 10:4

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,

1 Timothy 1:18

This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made
concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,

2 Timothy 2:4

No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please
him who enlisted him as a soldier.

As I reflect on the context of life that we experience here in our City, I am very greatful
to God that we are in a time of peace.
In fact as a nation, war has not come to our shores since the second world war in the mid
1900's.
As a country we enjoy so many great benefits that seem our right and are simply taken for
granted.
We enjoy freedom of speech
We enjoy the opportunity to purchase and own property and goods.
We enjoy a democratic political system, strong and robust enough to handle a country being
run by a minority government.
With all our opinions, concerns and fears, no gun will be fired, no violence will occur, life
will go on pretty much as normal.
With this great blessing of peace, it is easy for a person of faith (a follower of Christ) to
be lured into thinking that all is well and that there is nothing to be too concerned about.

HERE IS THE THING:::::: WARNING / WARNING / WARNING :::::: ALL IS NOT WELL

Even though our country is in a time of Peace, you and I as christians are at WAR. We are
living in times where our spiritual enemy the devil and his hordes of demonic forces are
undermining and ruining the plan and destiny that God created for human beings to know and
experience.
If you don't think this is true, then ask yourself the real questuions about our society?

1. How many marriages endure to the end??
2. How many christian businesses go to hell and back when they have been submitted to God.
3. How many are constantly sick and impaired?
4. How many are struggling with addictive behaviors, mental illness and alcoholism
 
One simple example is the cost of alcoholim in our community.
Last year a conservative estimate for the national debt of alcohol related costs to our society,
ie: debts incurred through accidents, violence, abuse, rehabilitation, etc, etc is in excess of
3 billion dollars.
Last year 52% of first time marriages ended in divorce and aproximately 70% + of second
marriages end in divorce.
Last year 75% of long term defacto relationships separated and ended their relationships
Last year, Australia had one of the highest, most desired lifestyles and priveleges desired of
any country on the globe. Yet we had one of the highest suicide rates of nations around the
globe.

Do not be decieved, we are not at peace we are at war with an unseen invisible enemy who is hell
bent on the destruction of every human life and the obliteration of their seed.

It is the devil's desire to present a counterfeit plan to human beings and lead them up the
garden path to a dead end road.
In John 10: 10 we read these words:
The Thief (Satan, our enemy) comes to steal , kill and destroy, but I (JESUS) have come that
they may have life and life abundantly.
The message bible says it like this:
A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal
life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.
As christians, our purpose is to be the salvation army of Christ bringing the good news of His
power and hope back to the hearts and minds of those that are lost.
We must recognise that in this life, to take new territory you are going to have to fight, you
are going to have to engage full on in battle.
You cannot sit back passively and hope that if you ignore him, the enemy will go away. You are
being lulled into a false sense of security.You must take on the mindset of a soldier and fight
the fight of faith.
As you step up to the mark, recognise areas that the enemy is trying to rob you, your family
and your community.You can begin to pray, you can begin to stand your ground, you can begin to
recognise where satan has made in roads into your circumsatnce or into your heart.
You can begin to call upon the Lord for his deliverance. You can drive the enemy out and
be vigilant to keep him out.

In Romans 10: 13, we are told that anyone who calls upon the name of the lord will be saved.
this salvation is not merely a salvation of faith, but it is also a salvation of circumstance.
You can call upon the Lord and be delivered and rescued from situations and circumstances,
that you are in. You can begin to fight with the weapons of faith to experience the miracle
salvation of God.
If God can do battle for His people and lead aproximately three million people across an ocean,
If God can rescue three men out of a burning furnace and turn things around, then i believe he
can rescue you.
Our faith is not something of the past, but faith is NOW the things hoped for, the evidence of
things not yet seen.
In the first century many believers were being hit hard by the devils attempts to take them out.
Some were being persecuted, some were suffering, some were disillusioned.
Paul did'nt encourage passiveism, he told them to get up, put on the armour of Christ and fight.
Fight the fight of faith:

1 Timothy 6:12

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have
confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Exhaustion from wrong thinking:-

I believe that each one of us need to understand two things as a christian.

1. I am at war, I am not in Peace

2. I have to live as a soldier not a civilian

Many christians are being exhausted and decieved today because somewhere along the line they
forgot that they were in a battle.
Somewhere along the line they forgot that they would have to fight for new territory.
Somewhere along the way, they forgot that they needed to wear the armour of righteousness
in order to withstand the devil and his deceiptful schemes. (Ephesians 6: 10 - 18)
When we move forward as a soldier of Christ, we have a number of key mindsets that must be
strong in our paradigm of thinking.
1. As a soldier I will anticipate and prepare myself for the deceptive attacks of the
 enemy.
2. As a soldier I will set myself to persevere by faith under trial
3. As a soldier I will be careful not to give the enemy any opportunities that might
 give him advantage. Therefore I will guard my speech and my actions so as not to allow
 a foothold.
4. As a soldier I will be prepared for God to stretch me and develop my character so as to
 remain. spiritually fit and sensitive to my captains commands.
5. As a soldier I will guard myself from being lulled into a false sense of peace that
 allows my adversary entrance into areas of my vulnerability.
Samson was taken out because he allowed Delilah to lull him with her lust, her beauty and
and her deceptful words.
Sometimes, something that even seems good can be used to rob us of God's best.
Samson had his eyes ruthlessly ripped out, leaving him blind and at the mercy of his enemy.
may I encourage each one today:
1. Guard your heart, for out of it flows the issues of life.
2. Do not become a victim of the god of this materialistic culture with all of its frills.
3. Keep your mind sober, knowing that your adversary the devil goes about as a roaring lion
   seeking whom he may devour.
4. Pray continually through each trial until you see God's revealed plan unfold.
5. Continue to seek after the presence of God which will energise and renew your spirit in
   times of hardship and trial.
6. Pursue the fellowship (relationships) with fellow believers and don't allow the little
   dissappointments and hurts to isolate you from God's family.
7. Keep looking to Jesus as your example and inspiration. He began his work in you, and he has
   promised to complete it. Even though you will be stretched, you will suffer, you will face
   all the normal realities that come with this life, you will not burst from the pressure,
   but God will give you grace that you may be able to endure or overcome.

Hebrews 12: 1 - 3 MESSAGE

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering
us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra
spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this
race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that
exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame,
whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find
yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of
hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
 4-11In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say
nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don't feel sorry for yourselves. Or
have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?
   My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline,
      but don't be crushed by it either.
   It's the child he loves that he disciplines;
      the child he embraces, he also corrects.
God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children.
This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training, the normal experience of children.
Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an
irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not
embrace God's training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what
seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best.
At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain.
Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature
in their relationship with God.

Love and Blessings
Ps Phil

Rockit Youth Camp

27 - 29th September
Contact: Chantelle 0412 047 705

Connect Conference

26 - 28th October
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HEAVEN'S GATES - HELL's FLAMES

4th - 9th November
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